THIS POLITICAL VOLLEYING IS FOR A GOOD CAUSE

State Rep. Gregory F. Lavelle has a dream. "I've
always wanted to spike a United States senator without
getting arrested for it by the Secret Service," he said.

Easter Seals has every intention of letting Lavelle,
a Brandywine Hundred Republican, try to make his dream
come true.

It recruited him to captain a team of Republican
politicians who will be taking on a team of Democratic
politicians in the showcase game of the annual Easter
Seals Volleyball Challenge next weekend at the
University of Delaware in Newark.

U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper is on the roster of the
Democratic team. If Lavelle misses his chance, it will
be his own fault.

The politicians will join as many as 2,000
participants on nearly 200 teams, all playing in the
tournament sponsored by the nonprofit Easter Seals of
Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore to benefit its
cognitive and physically disabled clientele, from
infants to the elderly.

Opening ceremonies at the Carpenter Sports Center,
located near the intersection of Main Street and N.
College Avenue, are Saturday, March 18, at 8:45 a.m. The
politicians' game begins at 9 a.m. Admission is free.

It will be interesting to see whether the Democrats
and Republicans, so practiced at getting their digs in
at one another, are any good at getting their digs in
for the volleyball.

Lavelle himself has been talking more trash than the
Delaware Solid Waste Authority. He named the Republican
team "This Won't Take Long" and has his strategy all
worked out.

"We're going to be counting on the Democrats to
embarrass themselves," he said.

The Democrats are taking a more basic approach. "I'm
not sure we have a strategy except to survive," said Lt.
Gov. John C. Carney Jr., who is the team captain.

State Rep. Valerie J. Longhurst, a Bear Democrat on
the team, promised there would be a surprise --
something to do with the t-shirts for the players.

Longhurst used to coach junior high volleyball, so
she is keeping a close eye on training, particularly
because a lot of the Democrats, including herself, are
of Irish heritage with a holiday to celebrate the day
before.

"Hopefully everybody is not going out on St.
Patrick's Day," Longhurst said. "I'll be calling them,
making sure they get to bed on time."

Both political teams are going with their strengths.
The Democrats hold seven of the nine statewide offices,
so they recruited heavily from there. The Republicans'
only base in state government is the House of
Representatives, where they have 25 of the 41 seats, so
their team is drawn largely from its membership.

Not that the Democrats would rub in their political
advantage. "I've been talking to some party insiders,"
said Insurance Commissioner Matthew P. Denn, who signed
up for the Democratic team. "We're thinking about
throwing the game, just so the Republicans can feel like
they've won something."

In addition to Carney, Carper, Denn and Longhurst,
the Democrats expect to field state Reps. Helene M.
Keeley, Michael P. Mulrooney, Peter C. Schwartzkopf and
John J. Viola and New Castle County Council President
Paul G. Clark.

The Republicans could not help noticing the absence
of state Treasurer Jack A. Markell on the Democrats'
Carney-captained team. "Their side of the net might not
be big enough for the two of them," quipped state Rep.
John C. Atkins, a Sussex County Republican who will be
making the trek north to play.

Lavelle and Atkins expect to be joined on the
Republican team by state Sen. Charles L. Copeland, state
Reps. Joseph W. Booth, Wayne A. Smith and Robert J.
Valihura Jr., National Committeeman John R. Matlusky and
assorted Republican staff members. State Rep. Pamela S.
Maier is coming to cheer.

When the joshing stops, the politicians are serious
about why they are playing. Lavelle himself is the
father of a 5-year-old son with special needs. Longhurst
has been working with Easter Seals to establish a
master's degree program in speech pathology, because
Delaware is one of two states without one and needs it
to create a larger pool of these speech specialists.

The volleyball tournament raises money through
corporate donations, pledges collected by the teams,
raffles and individual contributions. More information
about giving is available by calling Easter Seals at
800-677-3800 or by going to the de.easterseals.com Web
site.

The event brought in more that $200,000 in 2005, and
the goal this year -- for the 25th annual volleyball
challenge -- is $250,000. "This is really our signature
fund-raising event -- and has been," said Verna W.
Hensley, who is Easter Seals' public affairs vice
president and knows her politics. She used to be the
state director for the late U.S. Sen. William V. Roth
Jr., a Republican.

So Lavelle is doing more than talking trash. "I live
this every day," he said.